Looking Back (Grey Sky and Bittersweet)
Swans on the Susquehannah (Reflections)
Lullaby for Blackie Boo (Before Today, Beyond Tomorrow)
Now, and Again (In the Wake)
A Pillow in the Sky (A Place in the Sun)
Shepherd Me (A Place in the Sun)
Dawn on Red Mountain (Grey Sky and Bittersweet)
October Sky (In the Wake)
A Light Rain (Just this Side of Spring)
Broken Wing at North Light (Where Butterflies Dance)
Send Me an Angel (Tapestries of Time)
Nikki’s Song (Just this Side of Spring)
Across the Midnight Sky (Before Today, Beyond Tomorrow)
Saying Goodbye (Before Today, Beyond Tomorrow)
Forever Sunday (Change Is in the Wind)
Steinway Artist, Ann Sweeten
"Ann Sweeten has one of the most instantly recognizable piano 'voices' in contemporary instrumental music, characterized by a fluid melodicism wedded to a discernible melancholic/tragic romanticism." - Bill Binkelman, Retailing Insight
"(Ann Sweeten) transcends categorization in blending chamber classical and New Age into music of beguiling beauty." - Ron Schepper, Textura.org
"It is my pleasure to officially welcome you to the distinguished international roster of Steinway Artists. …the high standard you have set with your artistic and professional achievements make it most appropriate that you are now formally included among a list of the most accomplished and discriminating performing artists in the world." -
Bonnie Barrett,
Director, Concert and Artist Activities, Steinway
Internationally Renowned, Chart-Topping, Award-Winning Pianist/Composer Ann Sweeten
"It is often, people ask me where I get my inspiration. As for me, the pieces almost seem to write themselves. I think it must be then, that the source is divine, and while I play one instrument, I become, yet another."- Ann Sweeten
Fourteen-Time Music Awards Nominee, ASCAP Popular Awards Recipient 2002 - 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020
After a quarter century of enamoring audiences on the Concert stage and on Radio/Internet Airwaves, Ann Sweeten’s signature style is recognized world-wide. Often placed in the New Age genre, her style is decidedly unique, embracing not only the classical realm, but aspects of jazz, film scoring, and popular music. Sweeten’s music has aired and been reviewed across the world to wide critical acclaim and these are just some of the accolades awarded to her:
“A pianist whose abilities are unrivaled”;”musical genius”;” beauty incarnate”;” inimitable”;”reminiscent of something written by the great impressionists, out of the ordinary..”; “one of the most instantly recognizable ‘voices’ in contemporary instrumental music”; “musical Narnia”; “exquisite music performed by a consummate musician”; “the touch of a master”; “a true maestro at work”;”outstanding technique”;” her astute control of nuance and tempo will beguile you”; “astounding ability to paint a vivid picture”;”the music bears hints of the musical masters’ phrasing in the music. I hear notes of Barber, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Brahms”; “You can’t call this music ‘Jazz’, nor can you pigeonhole it as ‘New Age’… because it’s purely/simply ‘Ann’ .”; “..I could feel a Higher Power within each song. It is hypnotically intoxicating. Sweeten is a gifted and anointed spirit to be sure.”
Ann Sweeten’s journey in the performing arts began at the age of 6 in both Music and Ballet in Westfield, NJ. She received a Hammond Organ for Christmas that year after showing interest in keyboards and was soon to master it, though the first year she had to stand to reach the pedals. For her ninth Christmas, she received a Baldwin Piano and soon began intensive study with Russian-born Concert Pianist David Sokoloff. Under his tutelage, she learned to play the music of the great masters. She sites Sokoloff as her greatest mentor, whose influence in developing her technique and in encouraging her musicality, was paramount. All during these years Sweeten was also dancing the classic ballets, Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, Sleeping Beauty, with a Regional Ballet Company in NJ. A Dean’s list scholar throughout academia, Sweeten earned a B.A. from Smith College in foreign languages, graduating Cum Laude, and continued study in Paris and later at the Boston Conservatory.
Sweeten did a brief two year stint as Female Front and lyricist to the Pop/Rock Band: FALLOUT. Then she began appearing on Cruise Ships, in Cabaret Clubs and Resorts playing and singing a wide range of material including Jazz, Pop, Folk, New Age and Broadway music. Sweeten began composing around 1989 in the midst of her Musical Theatre Career, starring in such roles as Aldonza (Man of La Mancha), Sister Amnesia (Nunsense) Miss Mona (Best Little Whorehouse in Texas) and Velma Kelly (Chicago). When she started introducing her own original material to her setlists, the response was overwhelming. In 1997, Sweeten released her debut album, “Prism”. By Sweeten’s third album, “Reflections” (2000), her music was selling on listening stations at major record chains (Borders Books & Music, Sam Goody’s) weekly by the hundreds. Fans began to write in depth of the effect of Sweeten’s music on their lives; speaking of the music as hope, as giving the power of healing or a way of finding peace. She has stated “the fact that my music touches people so strongly is the greatest reward I receive from my music and I have been moved to tears by the personal stories people have shared with me.” Having written over 100 musical scores to date, Sweeten is also author to all of her albums’ liner notes and is a poet in her own right. In 2008, Steinway and Sons welcomed Sweeten into its prestigious international roster of Steinway Artists, touting her, a true Renaissance woman.
Whatever words you may use to describe this artist, her music is always timeless, elegant and classic, always, Ann Sweeten.
Ann Sweeten’s newest offering, Change Is in the Wind, is a breathtaking and breath-catching collection of passionate instrumentals rendered with prodigious technique and mesmerizing melodic sensibility. Standout guest musicians include: Nancy Rumbel (English Horn), Eugene Friesen (Cello), and Charlie Bisharat (Violin). Though born out of the Pandemic, Change Is in the Wind bursts forth from the composer’s soul and blooms lushly on the ears and in the mind of the listener. Once again, Sweeten finds the path to light amidst the darkness and has said in her own words: "This time, and not for a long time, my music is coming from a place of Peace. It’s been kind of surreal actually, as if the heartaches of the past have been freed and I am floating in an aura of completeness, of understanding and release, Turning the Page, as it were… Change Is in the Wind, represents a glance in the rearview mirror of my life, but, with an Emergence into the light and peace of the Present."
New CD by Ann Sweeten
"Change Is in the Wind" (Release date: September 3, 2021)
"I’ve had the pleasure of working with Ann Sweeten for 15 years. In that entire time I’ve never known her to settle for anything less than brilliance in her composition and performance. Her latest album, Change Is in the Wind, furthers her legacy as one of the most talented pianists and composers on the scene today." - Will Ackerman (Founder, Windham Hill Records)
One of the most decorated pianists of the past decade with albums consistently ranking in the Top 5 NAR and ZMR Radio Charts, she is also one of the most played modern instrumentalists in North America. Discography includes 15 Albums (1 DVD) and 6 compilations, one of which is The Gathering IV produced by Will Ackerman at Imaginary Road Studios. The Gathering, first in the series, was Album of the Year in 2012. Sweeten blends stylish, sophisticated, technical composition in well-rooted classical themes with originality and passion, resulting in performances that pack an emotional wallop. A truly well-rounded individual and artist, Ms. Sweeten is a staunch environmentalist, animal activist and vegetarian. In addition to her Concert and Recording career, she is also a professional actress/singer/dancer with Actor’s Equity Association. Ann Sweeten is herself a Breast Cancer survivor twice over, is involved with the Arts in Healthcare Initiative and is now battling Leukemia.
Enjoy listening to more of Ann Sweeten's music at annsweeten.com.
